Since [Aleister] Crowley already had his own order, why did the OTO [Ordo Templi Orientis] interest him? First, [Theodor] Reuss convinced the Beast that the OTO had potential access to the thought-world of Freemasonry worldwide. Second, Reuss claimed for the OTO a descent from the supposed late medieval Fraternity of German adept, Christian Rosenkreuz, and while a few suspected “Frater C.R.” of being a literary invention or “blind,” no one was sure. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn claimed “his” authority, but contact with authentic German Rosicrucian adepts had never been realized. Here, perhaps, was Crowley’s chance to make the link, involved, as he was, in superseding Mathers’ and Westcott’s broken order, to “regenerate the world, the little world my sister,” as The Book of the Law prophesied (Liber AL I, 53).… Read the rest

James Wasserman is the founder of the Ordo Templi Orientis’ (O.T.O.) NYC Tahuti Lodge and one of the foremost practitioners of the magical system of Aleister Crowley. His most recent book is In the Center of the Fire: A Memoir of the Occult 1966-1989, which chronicles the occult scene in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s. In this segment, he elucidates the Thelemic conception of history as a progression of aeons, represented by the Egyptian gods Isis, Osiris and Horus.

James Wasserman is the founder of the Ordo Templi Orientis’ (O.T.O.) NYC Tahuti Lodge and one of the foremost practitioners of the magical system of Aleister Crowley. His most recent book is In the Center of the Fire: A Memoir of the Occult 1966-1989, which chronicles the occult scene in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s. In this segment, Wasserman describes the process of invocation – the identification of oneself with a deity or archetype – in reference to the gods, Pan and Tahuti.

Disinfonaughts are likely to be familliar with The Order Templi Orientis, part of Crowley’s legacy to the modern world. Relatively small in number they’re an occult group who meet, discuss and carry out acts of practical Thelemic magick.

However, you might not be familliar with Britain’s Daily Mail newpaper and their version of The O.T.O:

Forget Scientology, celebs are now falling for an even more sinister ‘religion': Introducing the Satanic sex cult that’s snaring stars such as Peaches Geldof

– Founder Aleister Crowley dubbed ‘the wickedest man in the world’
– Crowley was born in 1875 and styled himself ‘the Great Beast, 666′
– Other stars linked to the cult include Jimmy Page and Jay-Z

The socialite, 24, is a devotee of Ordo Templi Orientis, known as OTO, and even has the initials tattooed on her left forearm.

Given her tendency to flit between fads and fashions (at one point she was a Scientologist, more recently she has wandered into Judaism), this could be dismissed as another harmless flirtation.

In the latest episode of The Infinite and the Beyond, it’s election time! Are you a voter? Are you voting? Well, before you decide, you should explore your options by checking out our interview with Joseph Thiebes. Joseph tells us about the Ordo Templi Orientis as well as the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, The Gnostic Mass, and what goes into making the Cakes of Light. Later we discuss his Aleister Crowley 2012 presidential campaign as we learn more about Crowley's views and debunk some of the current myths surrounding him. The final part of the interview with Joseph deals with the ideas regarding authority.
In A Corner in the Occult we learn about occultist and Thelemite Major Grady Louis McMurtry aka: Hymenaeus Alpha and find out how important he was to the O.T.O. Later in the show we discuss Sympathetic Magick and how it effects our everyday lives as we look into The Essence of Magick. And throughout the episode we get to hear some great music by our featured artist Ralph Buckley!

Wasserman will be known to many of the Disinformed as the gent with enviable facial hair who has written and edited dozens of books (and regularly appears in documentaries) on Freemasonry, the Templars, Aleister Crowley, and other such esoterica. He is also a long-time practicing magician and member of the Ordo Templi Orientis, and was a key player in some of the events which have led to the O.T.O.–currently celebrating its one hundredth anniversary–still going strong today.

The years covered in this memoir begin with him as a freewheeling hippie, dabbling with decreasing commitment in political activism, and with increasing zeal in the occult (and, separately, drugs). Against the backdrop of late-sixties and early-seventies New York City, Wasserman chronicles his winding path through the occult with stops including yoga, Voodoo, and other, more obscure practices.… Read the rest

Readers will likely be familiar with Aleister Crowley, the notorious English occultist, bisexual libertine, recreational drug user, founder of the Thelemic religion, leader of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), and all-around scary wicked person. Those familiar with Crowley strictly through his esoteric writings, however, may be interested to know that one the “Great Beast’s” first forays into publishing consisted of a perverse little volume of erotic poetry entitled White Stains.

It was issued in Amsterdam in 1898 by Leonard Smithers; a leading publisher of English pornography, but also of controversial literature. His clients included Aubrey Beardsley, Arthur Symons, and Oscar Wilde. White Stains was published in a print run of one hundred copies which, according to rumors in the book world, Crowley is said to have white-stained himself. Most of these were destroyed in 1924 by British Customs; the surviving first editions currently sell for around $4,000 – $10,000.